Pokemon Generation VI
by calypsoxsrx
Summary: Taking place a year after the events of Pokemon BW2, the story follows the journey of Pokemon Trainers Nick, Nicole and Red as they go through the region of Kanto. Along their journey they'll meet characters from all the games and uncover a sinister plot by an evil organization. OCxOC and RedxCynthia
1. Chapter 1

****IMPORTANT PLEASE READ**  
I DO NOT OWN POKEMON! That said this fanfic follows the story of the games as close as possible. Meaning anything that happened in the games is canon in this fanfic. All protagonists from all the games will make an appearance at one point or another though their importance will vary. Other characters will appear as well. Like the summary says there will be A LOT of shipping going on since so many characters will be introduced. The only ones I'm sure of are the ship between my original characters RedxCynthia and HilbertxHilda. If you have suggestions with the other characters feel free to post it on the review.**

* * *

**_Future_**

_"Damn. How long had he been out,"_ he wondered? He began to get up but the most he could do was roll over onto his back. He lied there as the world around him fell apart. A liquid began to run down the side of his face. Hoping it wasn't what he thought it was, he wiped it with his left hand and looked at it. Red. His left hand was all red.

"_Great. I'm bleeding, my body's numb, and worst of all my friends and all my pokemon are all fighting for their lives while I'm lying her in the mud." _The boy thought as he stared up at the sun, or what little of it he could see. Smoke from raging fires and explosions had all but covered up the rest of the sky. He began to wonder how he even ended up where he was in the first place. For all he knew his friends could have already been dead. Just then a shadow cast over him…

* * *

** _Present__  
_**

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!**The alarm rang angrily. It was the third time it had to ring for the morning, its owner refusing to wake up. It would have had to ring for a fourth time had its owner not missed the snooze button which he previously hit the first three times with great accuracy. Lying on the bed with his right arm outstretched, listening to the alarm furiously beeping, the boy realized it was already the third time the alarm had woke him up. He fumbled his fingers around the clock till he found the off switch, silencing the alarm for good.

The boy sat up on his bed, placing a hand on his forehead and running it through his jet black shoulder-length hair. After letting out a long sigh, the boy decided he was awake enough to start his day, the start of his day being 9:30 a.m. He walked over to the bathroom and began brushing his teeth. After a sufficient amount of brushing he began to rinse.

Just then he heard a large thud outside of his room followed by the door bell. He ignored the bell the first time but on the second, no third, fourth? The doorbell began ringing furiously. The boy realized he was all alone at home and that he had a pretty good guess who was at the door. Making his way to the door with little hurry, even as the doorbell and banging continued and became louder, he called out, "I'm coming already!"

Finally reaching the door, he began to open it but as soon as he unlocked it, the door opened with great force slamming him into the wall.  
"Man Nick what took you so long!" the girl cried out not realizing said Nick was currently being crushed. The girl looked around for Nick finally releasing the door.

Feeling the force on the door lessen, Nick was about to exit and reveal himself when the door slammed into him once more, then a second, then a third.  
"Nick where'd you go~!?" the girl cried out, banging the door in hopes of coaxing out her friend.

All of a sudden she felt the door push back on her and at the same time heard, "I'M RIGHT HERE YOU IDIOT!" Nick pushed back with great force so that the girl was now pinned on the opposite wall.

"Oh! Ahaha. Didn't see you there." The girl replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible. Nick finally released the door, allowing the girl to enter and closed it behind her.

"What do you want Nicole?" Nick asked, rubbing his head. Nicole's eyes then lit up. She lunged towards Nick causing both of them to fall. Nick once again was pinned to the wall, this time by Nicole.

"THAT'S RIGHT! Where were you!? I was waiting for you, you dummy!" she questioned lightly banging her fists on his chest. Nick wondered at first what the girl was talking about, grabbing both her wrists in the process. Then he remembered.

"I thought that was at 11:00?"

"No~, it's-" the girl stopped. She looked at her watch and continued, "a half hour from now. But we have to get there early so we can get first dibs!"

"Alright then-"

"No time! Let's go now!" With great strength Nicole grabbed Nick's right arm, lifted him to his feet and dragged him outside. As they exited his house, Nicole could no longer pull Nick as he began to resist with all his might.

"Are you stupid Nicole!?"

"What are you doing Nick we have to go now!" she spoke through gritted teeth, pulling with all her might.

"Nicole I'm still-"

"We have to get the good Pokemon so we can start our-."

Just then a wicked blow clocked her on the head, at the same time hearing "Nicole I'm still in my boxers!" All of a sudden she was bending over on the ground, holding her head with both of her hands. She looked over to Nick who had just closed the door to his house, but not before seeing the outfit his friend had been wearing. Nick had been wearing nothing but a black tank top and blue boxer shorts. She looked at the ground embarrassed, her body shaking, holding in her emotions. Finally she burst and screamed up at the sky. "AT LEAST PUT SOME CLOTHES ON BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE DOOR!"

After a few minutes the door once again reopened revealing an appropriately clothed Nick. Nicole had been sitting on the steps of his porch, waiting impatiently for him to come out. At the sound of the door opening Nicole had sprung up and turned to greet him with a big smile across her face. The smile then turned into a frown.

Seeing this Nick questioned, "What?"

"That's what you're wearing?"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Nick was annoyed now, once again rubbing a hand on his head.

"Come on we're about to start a Pokemon journey and all you're wearing is a shirt and shorts!?"

"Who said anything about a Pokemon journey?" Nick realized what he had just said and anticipated the answer.

"You-"

"And don't say I did."

"But you did!" She began to whine, stomping her foot.

"Nicole that was when we were just little kids." Nick replied still rubbing his head albeit harder now.

"But you promised! And it's not like we can't. My parents and you're parents have all agreed to allow us to go on a Pokemon journey." She retorted no longer whining. Nick sighed. "_Where are those stupid parents of mine," _he wondered.

After a moments silence he replied, "Fine." Nicole stood triumphant with a smile on her face.

"Good now go change." She commanded, pointing a finger at his door.

"Into what?"

"Something like my clothes." Nick examined her clothing for the first time. The girl's outfit consisted of white and black sneakers, black stockings, a blue short skirt, a grey long sleeve pull-over hoodie with a white pokeball symbol on the front, a grey messenger's bag with a similar symbol on the opening flap, and finally a blue beanie hat with a visor. Her long red hair (natural) reached just past her shoulders and was styled so that it went over her right eye. Seeing that Nick was examining her, she got into a pose with her feet stretched apart, her left hand on her hip and her right outstretched toward him, making a V sign.

"…So what you want me to wear a skirt?" Nicole bent over, tired.

"We're wasting time just come here." She said grabbing his hand and entering his house, leading him up to his room.

"You can't just enter another person's room."

"Oh please, I know this room inside and out. It might as well be mine." Proving her statement she began skill fully pulling clothes from drawers and the closet with ease. It disturbed Nick how well she knew his room. Then again he knew her room pretty well. As he was imagining in his mind where all of her belongings were in her room Nicole had already placed his would be outfit on his bed.

"Right. Now put all these clothes on."

" 'Kay." With that Nick began to undress. Pulling off his shirt, Nicole let out a yelp and covered her eyes taking a step back.

"Wha-Wha-What're you doing!?"

"What you told me to," he replied as calmly then in a smooth tone told her, "You can look you know." Nicole spread her fingers apart and peeked at him catching him starting to take his shorts off. After finally taking off his shorts leaving him in nothing but boxers, he was surprised to see Nicole still standing there. "Enjoying the view?" he asked. Seeing the smile on his face, she knew he was just teasing her. She finally put her off her eyes revealing her face was a bright red but she was not at all pleased.

"Why do you always have to tease me you dummy!" she cried out. With that she rushed out of the room slamming the door on the way out. As Nick began to put on the clothes she laid out he said to himself, "I'm teasing am I?"

After a few short minutes Nick finally exited the room. Nicole was crouched in the hallway looking down at the floor but looked up upon hearing the door open.

"Waaah." She let out, a huge smile on her face, "now that's what I'm talking about! You look good Nick!"

Nick smiled. It was always like her to switch emotions so easily. "You're not gonna fall for me are you?" Nick jokingly questioned.

"N-n-no!" she replied turning away from him and muttered "dummy" as she walked back down the stairs. Nick followed suit.

Nick's outfit now consisted of the same black and white sneakers, black pants, a white sleeveless hoodie with a grey shirt underneath. He wore black fingerless gloves and had on a black beanie hat that was tight around his head. On the rim of the beanie was the same pokeball symbol on Nicole's hoodie and bag.

As they exited the house, the two pulled their hoods on. Looking over at the other, they each gave a nod and smile and made their way to their destination, Professor's Oak's Laboratory where they would receive their first Pokemon and begin their Pokemon journey.

* * *

"Oh you're back." The professor said aloud as the door to his office opened. A young man carrying a box of gadgets entered. "You can set those down right over there," he pointed to a table to the side of the room.

"So how much longer will you be staying?" The young man shrugged. After waiting for a verbal response the professor knew wouldn't come he then continued. "I was surprised to see you you know. Where have you been? Don't tell me you're still training at that mountain." The boy shook his head slightly, walking over to the professor's table. "Well you know a couple trainers will be coming today to receive their first Pokemon, you should meet them and give them a few tips. How long has it been since you started your journey? 6, 7 years?"

"8." Red responded, with a tilt of his hat and a smirk.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Officially Red started his Pokemon journey at 11 making him 19 in this fanfic. I'm probably going to ship the rest of the video game protagonists with their respective counterpart or not at all unless someone says otherwise.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 to my new series!...wow I really have nothing to say.**

Pokemon swarmed from all directions. He stood defiantly, with his Pokemon by his side, ready to face the oncoming threat. He shouted out commands taking down the enemy Pokemon left and right while his friends and their Pokemon did the same. It was chaos. The ground was being torn apart and blasted away. Trees all around came crashing to the forest floor from stray fire.

Nonetheless throughout all this he felt good. Ever since he was a child he had wanted to make a difference. He wanted to change the world, or at least save it, which was exactly what he was doing. There was no way he was going to let these idiots they were fighting ruin the lives of innocents. Just then he heard someone scream his name.

"LOOK OUT!"

He turned just in time to see what looked like a Hyper Beam strike the ground the directly next to him...

* * *

_**Present**_

Nick took a long sigh as he and Nicole finally reached the street leading up to Professor Oak's lab. The two had run to the place on Nicole's behalf as she forcefully held onto his arm while taking off at breakneck speeds. Upon reaching the street, he had managed to convince her to slow their pace down as they were 20 minutes ahead of schedule. This did not sit well with Nicole as she fidgeted around walking beside Nick at an unbearably slow speed. Noticing this Nick began rubbing his head through his hood and hat.

"Will you sit still? We're right here."

"Which is exactly why we should just run over there and get it over with!" Nick sighed once more. He couldn't really argue with that so he chose to ignore her retort. Nicole, expecting an answer, looked away and mumbled "dummy" (at least that's what Nick thought he heard).

After a few agonizing minutes (for Nicole) down the long street, they finally reached the entrance to the road leading up to the famous Professor Oak's laboratory. The lab sat atop a hill and was a quaint looking place. The lab itself looked more like a large old style house, while in the back was a windmill that provided some power for the facility.

"Yes! We're finally here!" Nicole squealed in excitement. She stared off at the lab with joy, as she walked alongside Nick, holding onto his right arm, tugging it to get him to stare at the lab with her. Nick simply ignored her attempts and remained expressionless, though he was with most other things.

Upon getting closer to the entrance, Nick noticed a car parked right outside. He watched as a golden haired beauty exited the vehicle. Nick was shocked at how stunning this woman looked.

"_What's a girl like her doing here?" _he wondered. All the while he felt he had seen the girl somewhere before and felt that he should know her. Then, it hit him. He looked over to Nicole, who was gripping tightly on his arm, to get confirmation on the identity of the blonde bombshell. Nick smiled.

The look on her face was all the confirmation he needed.

* * *

Cynthia was finally nearing her destination. After a few hours' drive from Viridian City, she had arrived at Pallet Town and was closing in on Professor Oak's laboratory. She had arrived in Kanto 5 days back to help prepare and train for the Pokemon World Tournament being hosted in the region for this year. Ever since she had arrived she was swarmed with work and the media alike, traveling from city to city giving interviews, battling trainers, and helping organize the event which was less than a month away.

Just yesterday she received a call from her good friend Professor Rowan, asking her to meet with Professor Oak on some urgent business. From the way the Professor spoke it sounded serious. He wouldn't tell her what she would be meeting Oak about, just that she should do so right away. If it was something that he couldn't tell her on the phone, then it must be something dangerous.

She accepted of course. Not only did it seem important, but she could take a much needed break from the work and the paparazzi. She had woken up early in the morning to make sure no media could follow her and even ditched her iconic all black clothing for a blue sleeveless top instead. Other than that though her outfit remained unchanged.

As she navigated the quiet little town, she enjoyed the peaceful and serene vibe that it seemed to give. The sun was shining brightly and the grass was greenest she'd ever seen. It was relaxing, too relaxing, at least for her. As much as she would love to settle down in a place like this she had other duties to perform and a LOT more battling to be done as the champion of Sinnoh.

"_Maybe one day I could start a family here, with a loving husband and kids," _she thought, but then smirked upon remembering her mission and continued her thought, _"but that day is most certainly not today."_

Cynthia drove through the seemingly wide empty roads and eventually found herself at the entrance to the Professor's lab. She parked the car right outside and exited, standing next to her car and stared up at the facility.

The champion had met with the professor a couple times before, but the last time was almost two years ago. She began to wonder about why Oak would want to meet with her. After thinking for a bit, she shook her head, realizing that standing around was just a waste of time. She turned to her right towards the entrance and was startled to be greeted by a young woman.

The girl stood at an uncomfortably close distance from Cynthia, and had the most star struck look on her face.

"Y-y-you're C-C-Cynthia!" the girl managed to get out. The girl leaned forward expectantly.

"Oh my," Cynthia responded, sounding a little distressed, "a fan?"

Just then, Cynthia managed to get a look at the girl's eyes.

"_Well well, what do we have here," _she thought to herself.

Nick watched in horror as Nicole was seemingly on her way to getting a restraining order from her idol. Just seconds after seeing her hero, she had bolted off from his side and right into the woman's face. Before she could do anymore to embarrass herself, Nick ran over to her and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her slightly away.

"Sorry about that, you're uh, sort of her idol," Nick told the champion, giving her reason to the strange girl's actions.

"Oh, is that so?" she looked over to the girl who was now furiously shaking her head up and down. "Well, I'm honored to meet such a fan so far away from Sinnoh," the champion humbly replied extending her hand out to the girl.

Nicole stared at the hand in awe. She knew she was supposed to shake it but that was just too much for her to body to handle. So instead of shaking hands, she fainted.

Nick quickly caught her and held her up in his arms.

"Oh dear," was all Cynthia could say. Nick stared at Nicole's unconscious body in disbelief.

"She normally doesn't do this."

"I- I see."

Nick looked over to the champion and introduced himself, "I'm Nick and this here's Nicole." He extended his left hand out while he held the girl up with his right. Cynthia reached out and shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet-," she stopped. Seeing the boy's eyes Cynthia was stunned to say the least.

"_This boy as well?"_ she pondered as she stared deeply into the boy's eyes. Nick stared back, squinting his eyes, wondering why he was being stared at.

"Um, is there something wrong?" he asked, not breaking eye contact. Cynthia finally released her grip from his hand.

"No, nothing at all," though she continued to stare at the boy. She finally broke eye contact as she looked over at the girl. After a bit she looked back.

"Nick was it? Are you two Pokemon trainers per chance?"

"Just as soon as we-," he stopped and corrected, "she gets her Pokemon from Professor Oak, she will be."

"And you?" Cynthia was disappointed with that answer.

"I'm supposed to receive my starter Pokemon as well but I'm going to refuse."

"You do not want to become a Pokemon trainer?"

"Yeah- well no it's not, it's just…" Nick voiced trailed off as he looked away. Trying to come up with a reason why he doesn't want to become a trainer. _"Why don't I want to be a trainer?"_ he wondered.

The champion watched as the boy stood contemplating. She was not pleased with this boy's reluctance. She figured someone with _those_ eyes would be a lot more enthusiastic or at least willing to be a Pokemon trainer. She began coming up with ways in her head to get this boy set on the path to becoming one when all of a sudden the gates to the lab began opening.

* * *

Professor Oak had finished work in his office and now sat in the research floor. He was looking over some data readings on a tablet while standing next to the windows. Taking a quick look outside he noticed three figures down at the entrance.

"Oh she's here- and them as well?" he said aloud to himself. He viewed his watch and saw that they were 20 minutes early. Just then the door to research floor opened.

"The kids I was talking about are already here to pick up their Pokemon," he called out to Red as he entered, "Looks like they're already off to a better start than you huh?"

Red smiled as he recalled being late for his own first Pokemon, but gave no response.

"You go get the Pokemon ready while I-," he began but was cut off by the phone ringing. "Scratch that, I'm sorry Red could you open the gate for them while I take the call?" Red gave him a nod and turned toward the exit, while Oak answered the phone.

* * *

The two, then three as Nicole finally recovered, watched as a young man wearing blue jeans, a black pullover hoodie and a red hat opened the gates for them. After which he stopped and looked at the three visitors, at least Nick thought he was looking. His was hat was far enough down that he couldn't see his eyes. He had to admit he felt a little intimidated.

Cynthia on the other hand was intrigued. She could feel a strong aura emanating from this young man.

Nicole, who was finally up on her feet, saw the young man and felt as if she'd seen him somewhere before.

"Who's he?" she whispered to Nick. He replied with a shrug and looked back at him.

"We're here to-," Nick began, but the young man turned and began walking back toward the lab.

The trio stood in silence.

"Well, he seems pleasant," Cynthia commented, smiling at the two. She then turned to follow the man up the path.

The two not-as-of-yet trainers followed suit.

**Stay tuned for the next chapter! At the pace I'm going I'll never be able to finish this series so the next chapters are going to pick up the pace a bit (actually the one after this one might not)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for waiting patiently! Unfortunately I feel that the gaps between chapters will only get longer from here on considering that summer break is ending...**

"This is it, isn't it?" the girl asked, her head sunken, eyes staring at the ground.

"Yeah, it is," the boy replied. Despite all the emotions that swarmed his head, no other words came to mind. He stood there, feeling a little pathetic at how he couldn't comfort this person next to him. Simple words like, _"It'll be okay," _or, _"We'll make it through this!"_ began to echo through his head but felt that they wouldn't suffice. There had to be something he could say. Just then something else came to him.

"_You just have to…do."_

With that the boy reached over and took the girl's hand.

Feeling the warmth in her right hand, the girl looked over following the length of his arm until her eyes met with his. She smiled at him. The smile was genuine and calmed the boy. As they stared into each other eyes longer, slowly their faces came closer and closer…

* * *

**_Present_**

Nick and Nicole had caught up to Cynthia and were now following closely behind as they made their way up the path to the lab. Nicole lagged a little behind Nick, afraid to get too close to the "goddess" in front of her. Noticing this, Nick grabbed Nicole and shoved her in front of him pushing her closer and closer until she was side by side with Cynthia.

"Nick what are you doin!?" she hissed at him. Nick didn't bother replying and simply walked behind her with his hand on her back, applying force when she slowed. She began to turn back around to fight her aggressor but upon doing so made eye contact with her idol.

Cynthia had seen the girl come up beside her and watched as she made futile attempts to escape her friend. She saw Nicole look at her and responded with a smile. Seeing this, Nicole blushed intensely and turned her gaze to the ground.

"I- uh, I'm N-Ni-," she began, stumbling on her words.

"Nicole," Cynthia finished for her, "My biggest fan correct?"

"Y-Yeah! Wait how did you?"

"Nick told me while you were out."

"Oh! Ahaha. Right." She replied sheepishly and immediately turned to the boy, giving him the meanest look she could muster. Nick rubbed his head.

"It's the truth isn't it? 'Sides, how else was I supposed to explain you passing out?" Nicole grunted in response. She continued to walk along in silence, averting her eyes away from the woman next to her.

"So you're here to get a Pokemon from Professor Oak?" Cynthia asked. Nicole was startled by the question.

"Y-yes, Ma'am! Miss! Uh…"

Cynthia giggled at the girl's response, while Nick on the other hand began rubbing his head harder. Nicole was well aware of what she had just done and proceeded to bury her face in her hands.

"No formalities needed Nicole. You can just call me Cynthia."

"Right…" Nicole responded but her voice trailed off at the end. There was never a moment in her life where she felt so much embarrassment. Eventually this emotion turned into anger and since there was no way she was going to be mad at Cynthia…

"Nick you dummy!" she turned and smacked him in the arm with great force.

"Agh! What was that for?" He questioned, rubbing his arm.

"I'm gonna make sure the Professor gives you the worst starter Pokemon possible!" she thinks for a moment and cries out, "A Kakuna!"

With that Nicole turned to run up the path but before doing so uttered an "Excuse me" to Cynthia before running off.

Nick sighed. "That girl," he muttered as he took her place next to Cynthia.

* * *

Nicole ran up the steps and soon found herself approaching the young man who opened the gate for them. There was something oddly familiar about the young man, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She caught up to him and now walked by his side.

"Hey have I seen you from somewhere?" she asked, seemingly blurting out the question. The young man kept his head tilted slightly forward, making it hard to get a clear view of his face. This bothered Nicole greatly as she was so sure she knew him, and that he was doing it on purpose. He eventually responded with a shake of his head.

"Hmm," Nicole hummed, skeptical at the answer. She leaned in closer to him, to get a better look at his face. All of a sudden the boy turned toward her, their faces only a few inches apart. Nicole finally had a good look at his face and was shocked, jerking back a bit. Her cheeks became a bright red.

"Oh! Ahaha. Sorry about that," she apologized for her rudeness, slowing her pace at the same time, allowing him to walk in front of her. The young man had a revealed a very handsome face which had thrown Nicole off.

"_There's no way I could forget a guy like that," _she began in her mind, _"so I guess that means this is the first time I've seen him?"_ She thought back to the young man's face which was now burned into her mind. Just the act of doing so caused her to blush, but there was something about it that was off. Then, it clicked.

"_His eyes were RED!" _The young man's eyes were red, similar to that of the color of her hair. Upon noticing this, she lifted the bangs covering her eye and played with it.

"_Red…like a vampire," _she thought, _"Maybe he was _in_ one of those teen vampire movies?"_

* * *

"She doesn't know?" Cynthia asked as soon as Nicole was out of earshot, which was not long at all.

"I'm sorry?" Nick began, not sure what the champion was asking about but then remembered, "Oh right, no she doesn't." They walked in silence for a bit longer.

"You were saying about not wanting to be a trainer?"

"It's not that I don't, it's just…" Nick let out an even larger sigh before continuing, "Being a Pokemon trainer is every kid's dream, but isn't that just what is? A kid's dream? I mean, what chances does she or I have at becoming a Pokemon champion?" Cynthia noticed something interesting in that response.

"I thought we were talking about you here? What does she have to do with anything?"

Nick turned his head toward her and gave her a questioning look. He didn't realize that he had mentioned Nicole, but thinking back on his words he found it otherwise.

"Well, maybe me not wanting to be a trainer involves her wanting to." The two gave each other a quick glance before Nick continued, "Ever since we were kids I've always looked out for her. I've been by her side for 15 years so I know, that more than anything, she wants to be a Pokemon champion."

Nick paused once more, sorting through his thoughts, trying to think of what to say next. The entire time Cynthia kept a straight face and continued along up the steps, slowing her pace to give the boy time. He turned his gaze to the ground and continued in a softer tone, "But looking at my parents, and her parents even, they wanted to be Pokemon Champion too…but they didn't even make it to the League."

"So you doubt that Nicole has what it takes to be champion?"

"What!? No! Ugh, it's not like that," Nick responded, annoyed. He wasn't annoyed at her but at himself, being well aware what he was insinuating. "I don't mean to sound so negative. I'm just trying to look out for Nicole."

Just as he said that, he stopped in his tracks. Cynthia had already gone up two steps before noticing. She stopped and looked back at the boy, finding him furiously rubbing his head with both his hands. She smiled.

"Nick," she began, waiting for Nick to look up at her. As he did the champion continued, "I understand that you want to protect her, but you're going about this the wrong way. You can't always save a person you care about from being hurt. But what you can do is be there for them, to comfort them, to let that person know it'll be alright. You can't very well do that if you're not by her side."

Cynthia paused to let her words sink in. Nick continued to look up at her. He was enamored by her beauty for one thing, but her words moved him more than anything else.

"You share a strong bond, you two, and something even greater…," she continued, letting that sentence linger before finishing, "You may feel the way you do right now but feelings change, especially if you go on a journey. In fact, part of a journey is learning new things and becoming a different you. I'll admit, I didn't start my journey with the goal of being champion, but somewhere along the way something in me changed and here I am." A thought struck the champion and she began to feel embarrassed. "Sorry about that, I might've rambled for too long."

"No…no not at all," Nick replied.

After a bit of silence, Cynthia turned to continue up the steps, quickly finding herself at the lab's door with the young man with the red cap holding it open for her. She kept her eyes trained on him as she passed him, and couldn't help but feel that he was purposely avoiding eye contact with her.

Nick stood at the near top of the steps, processing the words given to him. He shook his head, turning back at the steps he had climbed. The path up to the lab wasn't too long but he felt like he had spent a good long while climbing them. Finally, he turned back, climbed the last few steps, apologized to the young man for the wait and entered the lab.

**...I can't believe I spent an entire chapter climbing up steps to a lab. I really wanted to continue but I felt like this was a really good part to end at. Next chapter get ready for an intense Pokemon battle between...well let's just wait and see.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for waiting! Here's chapter 4! Just for the record here are the ages of the characters introduced so far.**

**Nick and Nicole: 15**

**Red: 19**

**Cynthia: 24**

**Professor Oak: 48**

The little boy sat on the porch, tears streaming down his cheeks. He tried his hardest to hold in the tears, to stop the stop the crying, but the most he could do was hold in his breath for a second or two, and the sobbing would continue. The small boy hadn't noticed, but a person had sat beside him and was now rubbing their hand on his back.

Finally, the boy managed to cease the tears, taking short quick breaths.

"What happened son?" the boy's father asked. Through a strained voice the boy told his father what had happened. In response the father sat up, sighed and rubbed his head. After a bit of silence, letting the boy recover from telling his story, the father began to speak.

"Listen to me son. People say a LOT of things. Sometimes they'll say things they don't mean. Sometimes they do," The man paused checking to see if his son was listening.

The boy looked up, upon hearing silence. As he turned, he saw his father's eyes and found something different about them. His expression too was something the young boy had yet seen. Something about it made the boy listen intently.

Seeing his son look up at him he continued, "But none of that matters because words, by themselves at least, are meaningless. When those children told you, 'You can't be the Pokemon champion!' it didn't mean a thing. Did he do anything to stop you? Did he put you in a cage or stuff you in a bag?"

The boy's expression became lighter, a half smile forming on his face. It was true that while all of those kids taunted and ridiculed him, chanting thing such as "loser" and "nerd", no one had actually laid a finger on him. The boy shook his head no slightly. His father smiled as well. "No, didn't think so. But even if he did would that stop you? You told him you were gonna be the Pokemon champion. Are you going to do something about it?"

The boy looked back down at the ground, remembering back to how he retaliated by yelling at all of the kids that he would become champion. When he said it, he wasn't actually sure if he could be the champion, but he yelled back at them with all his might nonetheless. Remembering the words his father had just given him he knew it was possible. It just had to be.

The man watched as his son shook his head up and down furiously. Placing his hand on the boy's head he continued, "Right, of course you are. Cause at the end of the day, you don't have to listen to a word anyone says, you don't have to say a word to anyone, you just have to…do."

The man frowned at that last sentence he gave. He couldn't find the right words so it came out oddly worded. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked back down at his son and asked, "I'm sorry but did you understand any of that?...son?"

The little boy gave no response.

* * *

_**Present**_

"My, is it good to see you again Cynthia!" the professor whole heartedly exclaimed. The group now sat in the lobby of the lab. The professor and the Sinnoh champion sat on one couch while Nick and Nicole sat on another facing the other two. Meanwhile, Red, the mysterious young man with the red eyes, opted to stand, leaning on the wall next to the door.

"Likewise professor," the champion warmly responded.

The professor smiled and turned facing the other two he had scheduled an appointment with.

"Oh right, introductions! Nick, Nicole this beautiful young lady is-"

"It's alright professor, we're already past introductions," Nick interrupted, holding his hand up to the professor. Oak looked over to Cynthia who nodded in agreement.

"Really now? I would've imagined that knowing Cynthia's identity would have produced a greater reaction from you two. Especially you Nicole," the professor nodded toward the girl. He noticed that she had walked in sedated calmer than usual. Hearing this Nicole blushed from ear to ear.

Nick tried not to laugh while Cynthia gave a soft smile. An awkward silence filled the air which was interrupted by a cough from Red, surprisingly enough.

"Oh right well then, we already know what you two had come for but Cynthia on the other hand…" the professor's voiced trailed off as he turned to the champion. The professor's expression became darker all of a sudden. "I wish we could have reunited under better circumstances." Nick and Nicole looked at professor with intrigue and concern.

Cynthia on the other hand gave Oak a questioning look. "Are you sure it's okay for them to know?" Cynthia was a little confused. Why was the professor letting the kids know about this dangerous ordeal that even Professor Rowan wouldn't tell her about?

"Yes," the professor replied, "In fact, I would like them too." The two turned to face each other for clues. Seeing as how the other had a confused look, they both turned back toward the professor.

"Is there something wrong Professor Oak?" Nicole asked worriedly.

"Yes, I believe so."

Oak proceeded to tell the three about strange events occurring all over the Kanto region. There were certain routes where wild Pokemon were scarce, police reports of Pokemon kidnappings were at an all time high, billions of pokedollars were disappearing from big corporate companies, and many other huge scale events. All the while, he pulled out files with statistics and photos showing the deserted routes.

"This is insane!" Nicole slowly got out. She stood up and examined the files, checking to see their validity, as she refused to believe any of this was happening.

Cynthia did the same, except in a much calmer manner. She studied each of the files closely, burning every detail in her mind. On the outside she appeared unfazed by it all, but on the inside the champion was burning with a passion to find out what ever was causing all of this.

Meanwhile Nick sat dumbfounded. He was trying to take in the gravity of the situation. The crimes were ridiculously absurd in scale. What's more, the professor had a Pokemon champion reviewing all of it, and no one gets a champion on a case for no good reason. After a while he managed to pull himself together, he shook his head and began rubbing it.

"Wait, wait," said Nick, holding up a hand, "let me get things straight. First of all, how is this the first we're hearing about this? Why isn't this showin' up in the news?

"Well for one reason, the police have purposely told the press not to cover any of it in order to keep the public from going into a state of panic, the second is-"

"The World Tournament is coming up, which is what everyone is interested in so the press are more than happy to oblige," the champion finished for the professor.

"Very good observation Cynthia, that is quite correct." Nicole was absolutely astonished with how amazing her idol was. She loved how relaxed and insightful the young woman was. The entire time Cynthia had sat straight up, arms crossed with one leg over the other.

"_So cool!~" _Nicole thought. Just then she realized, she was the exact opposite, standing up and acting all surprised. She quickly sat back down and listened closely to the conversation.

Professor Oak continued, "Not only that, but all the crimes can be explained by other causes. The disappearance of Pokemon could be due to the changing climate, the billions of dollars being used for secret company projects." The professor went on listing statistics and explaining phenomena before concluding, "Truth be told, the police are very skeptical that any of these event are related. I can't blame them either. I mean, who would think to connect all these strange occurrences together?"

"Well, you did professor!" Nicole chimed. It was true that no one would think to connect the events together except for the great Professor Oak.

Oak chuckled. "Well I had a bit of help." Nick and Nicole looked to each other, wondering who the professor's inside source could be. Cynthia however, had a pretty good guess, seeing as how the professor had glanced at a certain someone as he said that. She stole a quick glance as well, finding the now very intriguing young man, the same as he had been, leaning against the wall, head tilted down, with his hands in his pockets.

"_Who are you?"_ the thought lingered in her mind as she focused her attention back to the professor. Ever since she saw him down at the entrance, she couldn't seem to keep him off her mind.

Nick breathed. "Ok. Well if all these crimes are related then, who's behind it all?"

The professor began to pull out a single photo from his lab coat, tossing it down on the table for everyone to see. The photo was blurry, but it revealed a man and a woman similarly dressed in strange black and white uniform. It looked as if the two were sneaking around a garden or forest.

"They call themselves Team Shadow."

Nick was stunned. He shook his head widely as he lay back in his seat. "What!? So another Team Rocket!?"

"I'm afraid so," Oak grimly replied.

"Great, so what these guys want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hearing this, Nick looked up at Cynthia but then quickly realized she had not been the source of the voice. Following the champion's gaze, he turned to his right and found Nicole in the exact same pose as Cynthia.

Brushing her hair to the side, she stood up and pointed to the clutter of papers on the table, and continued as cool as possible, "They're trying to take over the Kanto region!"

The three blankly stared at her. Red pulled his hat down farther.

"_What the hell Nicole?" _Nick thought, embarrassed for her.

"Well yes I suppose that would be a safe assumption," Oak replied.

Nicole sat back down, now with a smug look on her face. Nick buried his face in his hand.

"So one more question professor, why are you telling this to us?"

Cynthia was interested in the answer as well, although as always she already had a good guess. Professor Oak is a good judge of character after all.

"Well seeing as how you two are starting your Pokemon journey and will be traveling across the Kanto region, I would like it if you were to help me investigate these crimes and find out what this "Team Shadow" is up to," the professor revealed.

Nicole's eyes sparkled. Nick however was not amused.

"Absolutely-," he began.

"YES!" she finished.

The two looked at each other, both with sour looks on their faces.

"Nick the professor needs are help!"

"Nicole we are not-!" as Nick said this he made eye contact with Cynthia and remembered their conversation.

_You can't always save a person you care about from being hurt._

The words echoed through his mind. He sighed deeply. A moment of silence passed and then, "Wait, didn't you call Cynthia to do what you're having us do?"

"It would be great if she could, but as a Pokemon champion I'm afraid have her running all over the place looking for criminals the world doesn't even know, or believes exists, would be possible."

"Professor if I may," Cynthia began.

"Please, Cynthia. We need to keep the public peace first and foremost. As champion that should be your priority. That said, we can't have you doing anything out of the ordinary. You must stick to your work schedule and appear to the public, assuring them that everything is fine."

The champion pondered the man's words and after a while, agreed.

"So why is she here then?" Nicole asked worriedly. She felt as if she was somehow undermining her idol's authority.

"Well it's not as if Cynthia can't help at all. It's not like the public needs to know Cynthia's whereabouts 24/7," the professor assured them and continued, "While you two go around investigating, I will have Cynthia crack down on their hideouts and confront the villains directly."

"Oh I see!" Nicole exclaimed, "We'll scout out their bases then Cynthia will come in to finish the job!"

"Correct," Oak replied, "That is if she would be willing to."

He turned to the champion who quickly replied, "I would be more than willing to."

Nick breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wouldn't be _as_ dangerous now.

"Now it isn't as bad as it seems. You'll be helping me investigate, but you'll also be participating in the league as I'm sure you were planning to. As you travel across Kanto you'll have time to challenge the gyms, catch pokemon and train them, as any other trainer would. So, do I have your help?" the professor asked.

"You bet!" Nicole quickly answered, excitement flowing through her body.

"Well if she's going, then I am too," Nick responded.

"Good, now your first job is in Route 1."

"WHAT!?" the two exclaimed.

"You see this picture of Team Shadow was taken recently and right outside of Viridian City, which leads me to believe that they have a base on Route 1."

"It makes sense if you if think about it," the champion commented, "who would ever think to look for a villain lair on Route 1."

"True," Nicole agreed.

After thinking for a bit a thought came to Nick.

"Wait. If Cynthia's supposed to keep the public peace by showing up at events, what happens if she gets hurt?"

Nicole was shocked by that comment. "Are you kidding me Nick!? This is Cynthia we're talking about here! There's no way someone like her could get hurt! I mean she hasn't even lost a battle!"

"Didn't she lose to that girl that one time though? What was her name? Da-"

"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" Nicole cried, running over placing her hands on his mouth. "That wasn't true that didn't happen! It was just a rumor!"

Nick managed to free his mouth and went on, "There was another rumor too that she lost to some boy while she was visiting Unova. Plus she participated in the first Pokemon World Tournament but lost to-"

"Ahem," the professor coughed, nodding his head toward the woman being spoken about right next to him.

Nicole quickly got off Nick and sat next to him straight up. Nick blushed and rubbed his head.

"No offense or anything," he muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

Cynthia simply smiled and replied, "None taken." The champion fondly recalled back to her battles with people previously mentioned. There was no way she could ever forget them.

"Going back to your question Nick, I actually did think about that as well and so, I have prepared a bodyguard," the professor said and pointed a hand. The three followed it and found themselves looking over to the mysterious young man who had remained silent the entire time.

"Woah. I forgot he was there," Nicole whispered to Nick.

"My assistant will be joining you two on your investigation and will be accompanying Cynthia when she goes in to confront the criminals."

"Wow, so he's traveling with us." Nicole said aloud to herself.

"Yeah I guess it won't be just us two," Nick remarked. Hearing that Nicole looked over at Nick and stared at him. Nick felt her eyes on him and looked back, giving her a questioning look. She quickly turned away and blushed.

"I-i-it's nothing!" she assured Nick.

"You know professor," Cynthia began, turning to him revealing a wicked smile on her face. Her interest for the young man had peaked. She just had to find out more about this "bodyguard" and she knows just the way to do it. "Forgive me if I sound a little arrogant, but I always found having bullet proof glass protecting a diamond a little redundant, seeing as how the diamond would be stronger. Do you mind if I see just how strong this glass is?

Oak wondered what she meant by the analogy but quickly got it. "Oh, you want to battle him?"

"Yes, I would," she replied simply, turning back to the young man who was now looking directly at her. His eyes were hidden from shadow cast by his visor, but it was no question what (or in this case who) he was looking at. Cynthia gave him a smile, but his expression remained blank.

Cynthia felt her pulse rising. There was something about this man that made her excited. She felt his aura grow stronger. There was no way she was going to leave without battling him.

"Would you mind?" the champion asked the young man himself. Her reply was a shake of the head. "Then please lead the way to the field."

With that the young man turned to open the door, and turned back to Cynthia. She stood and made her way over. As the two exited, the other three got up and followed suit.

"Oh man that guy's gonna get crushed!" Nicole said aloud to herself, throwing a punch at the air.

"Well, I don't know about getting crushed, but don't your hopes up too high Nicole," Oak remarked. Nicole simply ignored the comment, thinking it was just the professor teasing her. There was no way this random guy could beat Cynthia.

Nick on the other hand didn't know what to think except that the guy was really intimidating. He looked over to Professor Oak.

"Do you really think he stands a chance?"

The professor shrugged, then answered, "I'm actually not too sure myself. I haven't seen him battle in a _very_ long time, but..." he turned and faced Nick. "I'll be damned if he doesn't."

**Sorry but I managed to delay the battle to the next chapter. Keep an eye out for it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**It's battling time folks! Thanks for waiting patiently.**

She couldn't believe it. Just a couple months ago she would never have dreamed of battling the champion let alone beating him. She hadn't actually won yet but the champion was down to his last Pokémon.

"I'm not gonna lie," the champion called out to her, "It's been a while since anyone's placed me in a tight corner."

A smile appeared on her face. She couldn't help but take that compliment to its fullest. Her was heart was pounding hard and fast. It felt like it would burst at any moment.

"Don't worry it'll be over soon," she called back. The champion burst out laughing.

Before the battle, she was sure she could win, but now she _knew._ It felt a little arrogant to assume that a battle was won before it was over, but she put so much faith in herself and her Pokémon. They had gone through so much and trained so hard for this moment, and they were going to come out as victors.

The champion finally managed to calm himself down and regain his composure. A smirk remained on his face as he called out once more, "I'm sure it will be. As for whom though, well, let's just find out for ourselves."

With that he released his final Pokémon.

* * *

Cynthia and the young man stood on opposite ends of a dirt field, while Nick and Nicole stood behind the professor, who would act as the judge, at the middle.

Ever since they got to the battleground, neither battler had taken a look at the other. The young man had his head tilted down with his left hand in his pocket while the right tossed a poke ball up and down. Cynthia looked over to the side as wind blew her long golden hair back. She kept her arms to the side, looking rather defiant.

The two newbies looked back and forth at the two battlers in their pre-battle stance.

"Wow," Nicole uttered, seemingly amazed at how cool they looked. She wondered where that wind was even coming from.

"Yeah," Nick agreed. He felt an intensity coming from the two battlers, causing his own pulse to race.

"This will be a quick 1v1 match," the professor began. He spoke aloud for the participants to hear, although they hardly needed it. He was doing it mostly for the two behind him. He continued, "Person challenged will make the first move. The winner will be decided when opposing Pokémon is unable to battle or the trainer forfeits the match."

As Oak spoke the rules for the match, Cynthia finally opened her eyes and looked over to the young man.

"As the champion of the Sinnoh region," she began, calling out to Red, "I wouldn't challenge just anybody to a battle. You should be honored…"

The young man gave no response, not even a change in movement.

"…is what I would say but, somehow I feel as if the honor should be mine?"

She looked over to him. For the most part she felt the same as she did when battling other powerful trainers. There was the feeling of excitement and adrenaline rushing through her veins, but there was something else that made it different. The feeling inside of her was unlike anything she'd ever felt, but it did slightly resemble the feeling she had when challenging the previous champion of Sinnoh. That feeling of challenging someone greater than you, she hadn't felt in a _very_ long time but it was one she wouldn't forget.

Who would've known it, but she felt that feeling towards the young man, but there was something else she was feeling. It was completely new to her and she couldn't quite figure it out. If anything, it made her heart feel a little…funny.

"_This feeling, I've felt it since I first saw him and it's been growing…"_

Just as Cynthia thought that, the boy finally stopped tossing the poke ball and held it up. Taking his other hand, he lifted his visor revealing his eyes. For the first time since they met, the two had made eye contact.

Her eyes widened. She hadn't expected that at all. His eyes, the young man's eyes burned with such intensity. Out of all her years as being a trainer, never before had she seen eyes like those, and to top it off they were red. The young man's eyes were a piercing a red. Piercing, just like the feeling that struck her heart the moment she saw them.

Cynthia's heart raced as the "funny" feeling grew. Placing a hand on her chest, she felt her heartbeat going crazy. Despite all this, she couldn't help but smile.

"You're different. You give me this feeling that I haven't felt before. Why?" she paused to giggle, "I have feeling I'll have my answer after our battle. I, Cynthia, champion of the Sinnoh region, challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

"Let the battle begin!" Oak yelled, taking the remark as his signal to start the match. "You kids pay close attention," he said aside to the other two.

Cynthia pulled out a poke ball and tossed it with a backhand motion.

"Lucario, battle dance!"

From the poke ball erupted a beam of light from which, the Pokémon known as Lucario, emerged. The Pokémon threw a few punches and a kick before assuming a fighting stance.

Red, having his poke ball already out, casually tossed it out onto the field with no words. As it burst open, a small yellow rodent appeared. The Pikachu let out a cry as it raised its arms, signaling its readiness.

"Volt tackle," Red commanded, his voice barely audible. Pikachu reacted instantly though, and charged towards its opponent. As it came closer, the Pokémon gained speed while a ball of electricity surrounded it.

"Lucario, counter with an aura sphere!"

The Pokémon placed its hands close together. In between, a large blazing blue ball formed, which Lucario proceeded to fire at the oncoming Pikachu.

The aura sphere flew with great speed and came in direct contact with the charging opponent but dispersed.

"What!?" Nicole cried in disbelief. The other three were shocked as well. The Pikachu barged straight through the attack and crashed into Lucario with great force, launching it away onto its back. Pikachu cringed from recoil damage, but shook it off.

Not wasting any time, Red gave Pikachu his next command, "Thunder."

The Pikachu then began to tense, as electricity coursed through its body.

"Extremespeed Lucario!" The Pokémon was already up and upon hearing the order, dashed forward. The Lucario zoomed toward the Pikachu leaving afterimages. In less than a second, the Lucario was in front of Pikachu, sending it flying with a massive punch.

"…" Red didn't react. Meanwhile, Pikachu flew high into the air, where it recovered, turning itself upright and letting out a loud cry as it continued the interrupted attack. A huge column of lightning struck the Lucario from above, dealing massive damage.

"_Hmm, that Pikachu is no laughing matter,"_ Cynthia thought as she smiled. This was exactly the fight she was hoping for. It was time to take things seriously.

"Volt Tackle," Red commanded, in the same monotone voice.

The Pikachu once again rushed towards Lucario.

"Lucario use Close Combat!" The Pokémon obeyed, moving towards the oncoming Pikachu which was surrounded by a ball of electricity that seemed to grow. Just as Pikachu was about to collide with its opponent, Lucario sidestepped to the right, striking the Pikachu at its side, sending it flying.

"Iron Tail into Volt Tackle," Red called out.

"…!" Cynthia couldn't believe what she had heard.

The Pikachu was about to land on the ground, but after hearing the command, its tail began to glow a bright white. It then used the tail strike the ground causing it to bounce back toward Lucario who was closing in to continue its assault. As it did so, a ball of electricity surrounded the Pikachu. Lucario threw a punch which collided straight into glowing yellow bowl.

A small burst of electricity erupted as both Pokémon were sent flying back to opposite ends of the field. Both Pokémon slowly got up, Pikachu cringing from recoil damage as Lucario rested on one knee.

"Are you alright Lucario?" Cynthia asked. Her response was a grunt as it stood up straight and assumed a fighting stance. Pikachu also let out a cry, letting its trainer know it was still good to fight.

"Thunder."

"Dodge it and get in close!"

Pikachu charged electricity and with a loud cry, released it into the sky. Lucario sped toward its opponent wary of the oncoming attack. It looked up just in time to see a massive bolt of electricity headed its way. The Pokemon stopped in its tracks, as lightning struck the ground in front of it, sidestepping it all the while and continued towards Pikachu.

"..." Red realized that Lucario was too fast to be hit by such a slow move as Thunder and compromised. "Thunderstorm."

"…!?" Cynthia was confused, sure that there was no such move. The spectators were just as confused.

"Professor is that a new move?" Nicole asked.

"Just watch," the man replied with a smile.

They watched as Pikachu continued to charge more electricity and shoot it up at the sky. Lucario had already closed in was only a few feet away from the electric mouse.

"Close Combat Lucario!" Cynthia commanded with a wave of her hand. The Pokemon took one step forward before it felt something. Quickly, Lucario lunged backward just in time to dodge another column of lightning. Lucario did the same as last time and sidestepped the Thunder. As it moved in, it had the same feeling and was stopped by another bolt of lightning, then another and another. The champion realized what the new move was.

_"It's using Thunder repeatedly!" _She watched as Lucario danced around the Pikachu, dodging the attack while trying to find opening but always getting stopped short by a massive bolt of lighting. Cynthia was in awe. Never had she seen a Pokemon use such a powerful move in rapid succession. To say that that Pikachu was well trained was a complete understatement. Shaking off her shock, she realized that it was only a matter of time before Lucario was hit.

"Find an opening and hit it with a Flash Cannon!" she called out. Just as she gave the command, Lucario was presented with a clear shot at Pikachu. Wasting no time, the Pokemon placed his hands together and released a massive beam of white light. The beam made direct contact with the Pikachu, sending it flying back, but not before it released one final charge of electricity. Thinking it was safe, Lucario relaxed and was struck once more with another bolt of lightning, freezing it in place. As the lightning faded, the Lucario dropped to its hands and knees. Pikachu meanwhile, was struggling to get up.

Not much time had passed since the start of the battle and already both Pokémon were weak. For a small Pokémon, Pikachu hit _hard._ Not only that, but the defense drop from the Close Combat had caused Lucario to take massive damage from the last Volt Tackle. Cynthia was unfazed as she knew the Pikachu had taken just as much damage, if not more.

"_With its base stats, Pikachu should've fainted long ago. That Pikachu is something," _she began in her mind, looking up from the Pikachu to the young man. She found him standing there completely expressionless, staring back at her. "And the trainer is something more," she spoke aloud softly to herself.

Brushing her hair to the side she called out to him, "I'm impressed to say the least. I never would have never imagined a Pokémon such as Pikachu would stand up to my Lucario, let alone bring him to his knees." Cynthia paused, waiting for a response.

"…"

Taking the silence as her response she continued, "Our Pokémon are weak, let's have the next move decide the victor." This time Cynthia received a tilt of the hat as a response. "Good, now give me your best your shot! Don't disappoint me!"

With that, both Pokémon shook of their fatigue and prepared for the last fight.

"Lucario Close Combat! Final assault!" she beckoned with a wave of her hand. The last part of the command gave Lucario the signal to go for an all out assault, no holding back. The Pokémon shot forward, ready to unleash hell on the opponent.

"Surge Tackle," Red commanded.

"Another new move!" Nicole commented.

The champion watched as the Pikachu charged forward as a ball of electricity surrounded the Pikachu. Cynthia quickly recognized the difference. The Pikachu was much, _much_ faster than when it used Volt Tackle, and the ball of electricity was smaller and more streamlined. It looked more like a giant surge of electricity than a Pikachu using Volt Tackle. She realized though, that it was still Volt Tackle. The Pokémon must've trained hard to turn Volt Tackle into that. Even then it would've needed a really good trainer. That part wasn't a problem.

"Lucario watch out!"

Everyone watched as the Pikachu closed in on Lucario in no time at all. Lucario hadn't expected the massive gain in speed and watched as the ball of electricity was suddenly in his face. The Pokémon would've gotten hit had it been any other Pokémon, but this was Cynthia's. Lucario dodged in the nick of time, as the Pikachu flew past it. Quickly, he turned to finish off the Pikachu but was surprised to find it in its face once again. This time there was no time to react. Pikachu crashed straight into Lucario's face and continued past it. As the Lucario struggled to get up, Cynthia was horrified to see the Pikachu coming in for another assault.

"_It didn't take recoil damage!?" _The champion was shocked. Pikachu slammed into Lucario a second time quick turning to come in for another attack.

"_I see, this version of Volt Tackle trades power for speed."_ Cynthia examined.

"Lucario focus! Take it down!"

The Pokémon heard its master's cries and complied. Adjusting to the massive speed of Pikachu, Lucario counterattacked as Pikachu closed in for the third time. Successfully, Lucario struck his opponent and sent it flying to the side, but was surprised to see it unfazed as it came in once more.

Everyone watched the spectacle as the Lucario and Pikachu traded blows. At first it seemed as if Lucario was taking a stand, but after a while it was taking more and more hits as Pikachu seemed to strike faster. Eventually Lucario made no motion to retaliate. As the Pikachu went in to deal the final blow, Lucario simply watched, too weak to do anything.

"Lucario!" Cynthia cried out to her Pokémon.

Just as Pikachu was about to collide, he heard his trainer call to him, "Enough." Pikachu stopped just inches in front of Lucario. The Pokémon then began to sway, too weak to even stand. Instead of hitting the ground it fell into a warm embrace. Cynthia had gone onto the battlefield and caught her Pokémon in her arms.

"You did well," She told her Pokémon, giving him a warm smile. Just then she heard a cry. Looking over she found the Pikachu cringing in massive pain, static electricity coursed through its body. It was just as she had expected. Instead of taking recoil damage after every attack, it took a combined amount of recoil damage.

The Pokémon looked as if it were in intense pain. She couldn't help but feel sorry for it. At least suicidal moves like explosion caused the Pokémon using it no pain, but this Pikachu is forced to endure it. Just as she was about to reprimand the young man for teaching his Pokémon such a dangerous move, she found him standing above the Pikachu. She watched as the young man crouched down beside his Pokémon and gently picked him up in his arms, cradling it as if it were a baby.

"Oh," Cynthia let out.

The champion couldn't see his face as he looked down at the Pikachu, but she could see a smile. The change in expression was a first. Pikachu looked back up to him with delight. Just a second ago the Pokémon was reeling in pain but now it had such a joyous look on its face. The Pikachu made cries as it called out to its trainer, and then snatched his hat away and wore it himself.

For the first time she got a good look at the young man's face, and what a look it was. His red eyes grew bright under the sun. He had short jet black hair but was long enough that it blew in the wind. Seeing the full expression on his face was what got to Cynthia the most. The young man had the most sincere caring expression on which was a stark contrast from before. The bond between him and the Pikachu was evident and so great. It was no wonder that she had lost.

Cynthia was lost at the sight and simply stared, smiling all the while. Red, however felt her staring and looked up at her, his smile disappearing. It was back to the cold expressionless face.

"Oh, um," she began unsure of what to say, which was rare. The champion felt her face heating up and placed a hand on her cheek and turned her head to the side. Lucario was still resting in her other arm and realized that his master was not acting normal. The Pokémon looked up at her and back at the young man that was causing her master to act funny.

"_Come on Cynthia!"_ she spoke in her mind, _"Say something! This is so unlike you." _Finally she spoke, "I was just thinking, that it seems you're Pikachu really loves you." The young man said nothing and gave her the awkward stare. _"I said something dumb didn't I?" _she told herself.

"I know."

She looked up, surprised that she had received a verbal response. That would make it the first. The young man simply smiled at her as he got up and took his hat back from his Pikachu. The Pikachu had somewhat recovered and climbed his arm and rested on his shoulder as he made his way back to the professor.

Lucario too had recovered and stood up, prompting Cynthia to stand up as well. The Pokémon looked up at his master who simply stood and stared at the young man walking away.

The champion felt strange. She placed a hand on her chest and felt her heart beat faster than it had during the battle. The funny feeling inside her grew as well. Sorting through her thoughts and feelings she realized it. It was obvious to her now what she had been feeling. Cynthia smiled and looked over to the side at rising sun. She ran a hand through her hair as another gust of wind blew on it, at the same time feeling a tug on her shirt.

Looking down she found her Lucario staring worriedly at her.

"Don't worry I'm fine," she assured her Pokémon. _"I'm just in love."_

**School's starting for me so expect the next chapter to be late. :/**


End file.
